It’s been close to five years since the news story broke about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Back in 2014, the city of Flint chose to change their main water supply from the water of Lake Huron and The Detroit River to the lead-infested waters of the Flint River. This transition was all in efforts to save money for the city of Flint in order to rebuild the infrastructure of the pipes connecting both Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the city of Flint, Michigan. People in Flint were told by numerous political figures such as the former mayor of Flint, Dayne Walling, that the water within the Flint River was safe to drink. They even continued by providing skewed data and flawed statistics about the status of water in the Flint River.

After the water had been approved as safe to drink, residents soon began complaining about the strange color and sewer like smell emitting from the water. Many described its physical appearance as being similar to that of urine and emitting a smell similar to that of a sewer.

In 2015, the water supply was changed back its original water supply from Lake Huron but unfortunately, it was too late. As a result of the Flint water crisis, over 100,000 citizens in Flint were affected. The largest population affected by this crisis were children and pregnant women.

As data on pregnant women in Flint, Michigan shows, the water in Flint has led to a drop in healthy pregnancies and has lead to an increase in fetal deaths and miscarriages says Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post in his article titled Flint’s lead-poisoned water had a horrifyingly large’ effect on fetal deaths, study finds. Women who were contaminated by this lead infested water now have a lower chance of having healthy pregnancies. In addition, medical professionals in Flint have found a large amount of the lead within the blood of their pediatric patients along with cases of patients contracting Legionnaires’ disease. This disease, which occurs as a result of inhalation of bacteria into the lungs, claimed the lives of twelve individuals in Flint and hospitalized almost eighty-seven. Legionnaires’ Disease occurs due to low levels of chlorine in water and higher levels of bacteria within it. The symptoms that this disease presents are similar to that of ammonia and are fortunately not contagious.

Since death can be a result and one risks contracting Legionnaires’ Disease by drinking the contaminated water, so many people have taken safety precautions when it has come to their drinking water. This is a reason why many people in Flint have chosen to drink bottled water instead. Many people have even taken further precaution by bathing, cooking, and even washing their clothes by hand with bottled water just to make sure they do not contract diseases such as this one. Life since this crisis has changed the lives of many across America and has been marked one of the worst water crises in American History. The sad part about this whole thing is that many people in the city of Flint are lower class minorities who are impoverished and do not have the means to relocate. This is why asking the question of “Why don’t people just leave Flint” can be very inconsiderate as some of these individuals have no other choice. However, the bigger question is: “Who is to Blame for all this?”.

The attorney general of Michigan, Bill Schuette, in 2016 looked to further investigate this issue. He wanted to put those behind this crisis behind bars and help those affected by it find some form of justice. This investigation has sadly led nowhere, and as of 2019. The fifteen individuals who were accused pleaded no contest and have had their records wiped completely clean as of recently. It seems that those who are responsible have only gotten a slap on their wrist for what they have done. This personally makes me lose trust in the government as a whole and politicians in general as they are the ones we elect to protect us not harm our health. Those responsible for this should be ashamed for what they have done and should never serve in any political position for the rest of their lives. Hopefully, justice is one day truly served in this issue and the people of Flint fully recover from this crisis.

Links :

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/21/flints-lead-poisoned-water-had-a-horrifyingly-large-effect-on-fetal-deaths-study-finds/?utm_term=.4381dfe28891

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/years-after-flint-water-crisis-began-no-one-is-behind-bars

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/05/582482024/lethal-pneumonia-outbreak-caused-by-low-chlorine-in-flint-water

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